Three Coins in the Fountain
by Jenn1
Summary: Richard White needs a vacation after everything that has happened in his life. But when he gets to Rome he's surprised to see some familiar faces… For 12 Days of Clois.


**Title:** Three Coins in the Fountain

**Author:** Jenn1

**Category:** Post _Superman Returns_

**Destination:** Prompt #24: Rome, Italy (Trevi Fountain)

**Rating:** PG (K+)

**Word Count:** 2506 words

**Summary: **Richard White needs a vacation after everything that has happened in his life. But when he gets to Rome he's surprised to see some familiar faces…

**Spoilers: **For _Superman Returns_. This is a sequel of sorts to **htbthomas**' _Déjà Vu_, which will make much better sense if you've read it before this one. htbthomas, thank you so much for letting me base this oneshot off your wonderful fic.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks go out to htbthomas, Mark C, and Georgia Kennedy for being awesome betas.

**Disclaimers:** They're not mine. DC comics and Bryan Singer own them. Anyone else not recognizable is mine. Not making one penny for this story. This fic is just for enjoyment.

_Thoughts are in italics_.

* * *

Richard White let his gaze take in the sights around him.

He was in Rome, the Eternal City. Two millennia ago, it was the center of the world. Now, it was just crowded.

He didn't have a particular destination in mind at the moment. When he heard the week before about the upcoming annual Rome Jazz Festival, he had decided to do a story about it. One of the musicians Nico Pasqualino, was retiring after the show. Richard had always been a huge jazz fan. Pasqualino was one of his all-time favorites. Of course he was also looking forward to the interview that he would have with Mr. Pasqualino the following day.

But that wasn't the only reason he was in Rome - he needed a vacation - even if it was a working one. Richard didn't mind keeping busy. It kept his mind off of other things…

Stopping suddenly, Richard found himself at the end of a side street. He had no idea where he was. He quickly pulled out a map and found his bearings by checking the map against a street sign at the nearby intersection. He looked like just another tourist.

Richard realized that he wasn't too far from Trevi Fountain. It was one of the most well-known places in Rome, although Richard was sure it would be crowded, he wanted to see it anyway.

As he came within sight of the world-famous landmark, he stopped. His eyes widened with shock as two people he had recognized came into his field of vision…

Clark Kent and Lois Lane… Embracing… Kissing.

Knowing about their secret marriage, and Clark's dual identity could not diminish the pain Richard felt in seeing them together. Yet, as much as he wanted to tear his eyes away, he couldn't.

"Daddy!"

Looking in the direction of the excited cry, Richard saw Jason running toward him. He got on one knee as his son zeroed in on him.

No… Clark's son.

…_But _I _was the one who was there for him all of these years. Jason is _mine, too…

Jason threw his arms around him, and the hug was a little too tight. It gave him another reminder that Jason _really_ wasn't his…

It was almost like it had been a year and not a week since he had seen Jason last.

"How've you been, Sport?"

"Great! We went in an airplane. There are a lot of neat things here…" Jason continued on ecstatically about all the different things he had seen.

As Richard stood up, he was still listening to Jason. Richard saw that Lois and Clark were coming his way. When Jason noticed his parents come up, he stopped his happy chatter.

"Richard, hi!" Lois said, a little too brightly. Was she as shocked to see him as he was to see them?

Richard smiled though that smile did not reach his eyes, he returned the greeting. "It's good to see you both… but I thought you told me you were going to Smallville for a visit?"

"We did see—" Clark started to say, but stopped. He turned his head as if to listen to something.

Richard knew immediately that Clark must have heard something with his super-hearing.

"I've got to, to—" he started, though Clark didn't usually stumble on his words, at least not in his and Lois' presence – Richard wondered why he was doing it now. Clark was looking around, maybe to make a quick exit without being seen, but then with this place being as crowded as it was…

"Go," Lois said, understanding. Giving Clark a quick kiss on the cheek, she added, "We'll be waiting for you."

_We?_ Richard thought. Surely Lois didn't mean that he would—Looking down at Jason, he knew what she really meant. _No, she meant herself and Jason._

Clark had darted quickly to mingle into the crowd. And somewhere along the way Richard figured he had found a hiding place to change into his blue tights. There was something in the sky for a split second, but no one really seemed to notice it.

Jason had been watching his father leave for whatever emergency was out there. Turning back around he asked quietly, "Dad- Superman will be able to save everyone, right?"

"I don't know, honey. But he'll do the best he can," Lois said in a soft voice. She brushed his hair out of his eyes. "We're going to have to get you a haircut when we get home."

"Do I have to?" Jason didn't sound too pleased with the idea. He liked his hair just the way it was.

"Yes," Lois' tone didn't change, but it held no room for argument. Glancing back up to Richard, she asked, "Want to join us sightseeing?"

"Sure." Richard wasn't sure why he had agreed. He was going to see the Trevi Fountain, just like they were.

At least it seemed to please Jason.

"What are you doing in Rome?" Lois asked as they walked, not wanting to beat around the bush.

"The Annual Jazz Festival - the one they have every year?" Richard wasn't sure if she'd remember it. Unlike him, Lois didn't care that much for jazz.

"So," Lois asked skeptically, "as the assistant editor of the foreign section, you had to come all the way out here to cover it?"

"That, and Nico Pasqualino is retiring after the performance."

"_The_ Nico Pasqualino?" Richard knew that the name was somewhat familiar to her. Pasqualino was known throughout the world as the Italian Duke Ellington.

"Yes, the festival is tomorrow night."

"Is that the only reason you're in Rome?" Lois sounded curious, and concerned.

Richard didn't feel like bringing up the fact that his uncle Perry had urged him to take this as a working vacation, 'to get away for a while.'

But he wasn't about to tell her that. "Mostly…yes."

Lois seemed to take him at his word.

Jason was ahead of them, taking in all the new sights, but they both kept their eye on him to make sure he didn't wander far. Not that Jason would. After what had happened with Luthor, he wanted to stay _very_ close to his family.

Since Richard wasn't sure what to talk about, he decided to pick the conversation up where they had left off before Clark had to "leave".

"I thought you were going to Clark's mother's for the week?" Richard kept his gaze on Jason as he asked the question.

"We did for a few days."

"Why didn't you mention that you were going to be going to Rome?" Richard faced her as he asked this question. He wanted to see what she said.

"We didn't want to tell anyone in the office."

"That's understandable, I guess." He forced himself not to let his frustration show. The newsroom was only speculating that Lois and Clark were starting to date. Of course, they didn't know what he knew… that they were already married.

But he knew that Lois had been avoiding answering the real question. "Why didn't you tell _me_ about it?"

Lois frowned a little, eyes flashing. "I don't believe Clark and I have to share everything we do with you!"

"That's not it, and you know it, Lois." Richard kept his voice even, though it was laced with disappointment. "Of course you don't have to tell me everything in your life - but I thought you and Clark trusted me."

The anger left Lois' face. "We do, Richard, I am sorry if it looked like we didn't. We didn't want to tell anyone about where we were going. This was special."

"First family vacation?"

"Yeah."

Jason came running up them, asking, "Are we gonna do more seeing around?"

"Sight seeing? Yes we are." Lois laughed lightly. She took Jason's hand, which was just as well, because he wanted to show her something.

Richard didn't join them but followed them with his eyes. Jason pointed out a statue that was connected with the Trevi Fountain.

The fountain itself was a sight to behold, not withstanding the enormous number of tourists trying to get close enough to take a picture or toss a coin. Lois, Richard, and Jason managed to find a vantage point that gave them a clear, unobstructed view of this magnificent work of Renaissance art. They walked slowly around the edge, admiring its intricately carved marble statues.

The center statue drew the most attention. It was Neptune, the Roman god of the sea. The chariot he was riding was shaped like a shell that was pulled by two sea horses. One horse was calm whereas the other was enraged; a Triton guided each of them. There were women on either side of Neptune, but the names escaped Richard's memory.

_The statues are better up close. _Richard thought as he looked at them. But he let his gaze wander around to the numerous other admirers gathered around the fountain. There were families, a few large groups being led by multilingual tour guides, and a sizeable contingent of couples. Richard began to wonder whether some who saw him with Lois and Jason might think…

_Stop right there,_ Richard told himself sternly. There was no use even going down that road.

It took a question from Jason to bring him out of his poignant thoughts.

"What are they doing?" the five-year-old asked his mother.

"They who, honey?" Lois asked, looking down at him.

"Them." Jason pointed. He was referring to a young couple who had their backs to the fountain and tossed something over their backs.

Richard knew the answer as soon as saw the gold coins leave the couple's hands and plop into the water. "It's a tradition to toss a coin into the fountain when you are here, Jason," he explained.

"Why?" For a five-year-old, the boy was remarkably inquisitive and curious about the world around him. He felt a measure of pride, knowing that he had helped to instill a quality in Jason that would serve him well throughout his life.

"So you can return to Rome someday," he continued.

Lois, who, like Richard, had been watching the other people, was somewhat skeptical about this. "It looks like there's more than one coin being thrown in at the same time."

"Some believe that if two coins are thrown in the fountain by two different people, then a marriage would happen soon. But if three coins were thrown in by three different people, there would be a divorce. Another—"

Richard stopped when he noticed that Lois was looking not at him, but behind him. He wasn't sure why, at least not until he saw her face brighten.

"Clark!"

Richard watched the two lovers embrace as if they had been apart for days, not merely an hour.

Clark spoke quietly, but loud enough so that they could hear him. "I overheard an Italian policeman say that there were some terrorists holding a store full of hostages. Fortunately, Superman was able to take care of the situation without anybody getting hurt. The terrorists are all safely in custody."

"I'm glad no one was harmed," Lois said as she put her hand on Clark's cheek. Richard noticed then that she was wearing her gold wedding band on her hand and not on the chain she usually wore to keep it hidden.

Her eyes were for her husband only. As Clark's were for her. Jason didn't seem to mind his parents' tender touches, having grown used to it in the past month.

Richard tried to avert his gaze, not wanting to see another passionate display, but he had something he wanted to discuss with them, something which needed their undivided attention.

He cleared his throat.

"I was thinking, would it be alright if I spent some time with Jason? If you like, I could even take him tonight, maybe for dinner."

Lois and Clark exchanged a look, seemingly communicating without words. It didn't take long. "Would you like to keep Jason for the night?" Lois asked. "I'm sure he'd love to spend some time with you."

Clark nodded his agreement.

Since Jason was hearing all of this, Richard asked him, "What do you say, Sport?"

Jason's "Yes!" was all that Richard needed to hear.

With that settled, Richard was surprised to hear Clark's next comment.

"You'd been explaining about the coin tossing earlier when I came back. I think we'd like to hear the rest of it."

"Ah, thanks for reminding me," Richard smiled. "You have to throw three coins with your right hand over your shoulder. Some say it's for luck. Others might go so far to make a wish sometimes."

"Could we do that too?" Jason wanted to know looking at the three adults.

"Sure," Clark agreed smiling down at the boy. He pulled out a handful of Euros. He gave three to Jason. Then he gave three to Lois and kept the remaining three for himself.

Richard put his hands into his own pockets, not to see if he had any Euros - he knew he didn't. He had only planned to do some sightseeing for a few hours, and then go back to the hotel.

"Don't you have any change?" Lois asked.

"Go ahead and toss yours in," Richard smiled to reassure her. "I'll come back another time."

"Do you want to go first, sweetie?" Lois asked Jason.

"No, you and Dad go ahead." Jason bit on his lower lip in thought. A habit about the boy Richard knew well, because Lois did it too.

Clark turned away from the fountain and tossed his Euros over his shoulder.

Lois did the same, but she had briefly closed her eyes. Richard watched with slight surprise as Clark leaned forward and kissed her. Lois made a noise of astonishment, but she returned the kiss.

Once again averting his gaze, Richard looked down at Jason. The boy was staring back at him intently. But he held his hand up with the Euros and said, "Here."

"Don't you want to make a wish?"

"I don't have nothin' to wish for. I want you to make a wish, Daddy," Jason replied, his face earnest.

Richard was nearly choked up at Jason's words. He glanced at Jason's parents - they were merely watching the exchange, not wanting to interrupt.

"Thank you," Richard said softly for Jason's ears alone as he held out his hand so his son could drop the coins into it.

He didn't know what to wish for. Closing his eyes, Richard thought for minute. But a part of a conversation he had had with Lois once he found out about her marriage to Clark came to mind.

"_I hope you'll finally be happy – it's all I ever wanted for you, Lois."_

"_There's someone out there, Richard. Someone who deserves you. You were there for me when he couldn't be, and for that, I'll always be grateful."_

"_I pray you're right, Lois."_

_I have my wish then._ With his eyes still closed, Richard tossed the Euros over his shoulder.

**The End… for now.**

_Thanks for reading, please leave a comment._ **_Jenn_**


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